🔗 Share this article

The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.

The one-time leader was sentenced of planning a armed takeover in last fall and handed more than 27 years in prison, but he remained under house arrest pending court reviews.

Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a safety action after fresh information came to light.

This included attempting to break his ankle monitor and a invitation to a public vigil that could facilitate a chance to flee".

Court Filing Details Flight Fears

In a document approving the custody, the magistrate said information from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's aim to disable the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his escape.

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the protest called by his child.

His child, his son Flávio, who holds office as a senator, called for a meeting of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.

The senator wrote on digital networks on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or see it all from your phone there on your couch? I call on you to fight with us."

He said the demonstration would be so followers could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the chance of the former president's move to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a record of arranging to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.

The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the US embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is positioned around 8 miles from the former president's residence.

International Reactions

Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist United States President Trump, prompting him to impose a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.

He is being held in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will experience a custody hearing on Sunday.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the Top Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with digital surveillance.

They also asked that the former president be authorized to leave his home for healthcare, saying he required ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other ailments.

Context of Sentencing

The former president was found guilty of leading a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the presidential race to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plan which involved plans to murder the current president and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.

The conspiracy was prevented because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. The current president was sworn in without incident on 1 January 2023.

But a following week, on the eighth of January, thousands of his followers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the federal district, the capital city.

The law enforcement intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.

The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been incited by him whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, bring back stability and bring him back to power.

At the moment, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.

He was also barred from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.

The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the next presidential race.